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Are you a mosquito magnet?

Mosquitoes seem to find some people an especially tasty treat, but it's not clear why.

“There's a great deal of research that has gone into that, and unfortunately, we're only scratching the surface, so to speak,” says Joseph Conlon, technical adviser to the American Mosquito Control Association. “It's very complex.”

You can start by blaming your parents, because there appears to be a genetic component. The blood-suckers may be attracted to your unique mix of odors, Conlon says, and there's not much you can do to change the sweat and oils exuded from your skin.

Because mosquitoes are attuned to plant nectars, some experts recommend against wearing perfume or other flowery scents in case they attract the insects.

In general, adults are more attractive than children to mosquitoes, probably because they produce more carbon dioxide and sweat. That tends to decrease as we age, so people in their 60s and 70s may be less appealing to mosquitoes.

Some mosquitoes like foot odors, so change your socks before you head outside.

Blame recent rains and warm weather for the armies of blood-sucking insects invading San Antonio and feasting on their favorite meal: a big, juicy human.

When they want to reproduce, female mosquitoes become like tiny, buzzing sharks pursuing their prey. They can detect the carbon dioxide we exhale from more than 100 feet away, and then they look for tell-tale movement. They fly toward their unsuspecting victim in a zigzag pattern, and when they get close, they're attracted to the odors from our skin. Then they zero in on our body heat, and the gorging begins. Pretty smart, right?

“They really are hunting,” says Joseph Conlon, technical advisor to the American Mosquito Control Association. “The females are looking for a protein source to make an egg. Mosquitoes have been around for at least 170 million years because they are very adaptable and they're good at what they do, which is reproduce.”

The fluid the mosquito injects into the skin to keep the blood from coagulating is what makes us itch and itch and itch.

Mosquito bites aren't just annoying, though. They can be deadly.

West Nile virus, which is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito, killed a record number of people in 2012, and Texas was the hardest hit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dallas County had the highest number of infections, although Bexar County had its fair share of cases, and two people died.

Public health officials say it's hard to know whether 2013 will see similar levels.

“People should not be fearful,” says Vincent Nathan, a Metropolitan Health District assistant director. “We don't anticipate, nor did we have last year, any kind of epidemic of the disease in our community.”

Some counties in North Texas are conducting aerial spraying for mosquitoes, but San Antonio has no plans to spray because it's not warranted, Nathan says.